The End of the Otherworldly Realm Is Merely the Beginning of the Divine Venerable's Dharma Form

Boom! Boom! Boom!

If the first sentence had been a thunderclap, then what followed was nothing short of a boundless calamity capable of destroying the world!

Empress Nuwa had completely lost her composure.

She shot to her feet from her cloud couch, her chest rising and falling violently as her breathing grew rapid.

The Yao Race could claim thirty percent of the divine positions?!

Reestablishing the Yao Race's Heavenly Court was also possible?!

Th-this... how could this be?!

This was something she had never even dared to dream of!

What was the Investiture of the Gods? It was a Heavenly Dao supreme treasure that wielded the authority of the divine path! Those whose names appeared on the list could attain divine positions, entrust their True Spirits to it, and become immortal and indestructible. They could also enjoy the offerings of incense and boundless fortune brought by their divine offices!

In the current Primordial Era, the immortal path flourished while the divine path had fallen into decline. But as a Saint, Nuwa could see farther than anyone. She knew that the further one advanced along the immortal path, the harder it became. It all came down to one word: struggle. Struggle against Heaven, struggle against Earth, struggle against others. The slightest misstep could mean eternal damnation.

The divine path, on the other hand, was subject to the Heavenly Dao and the Investiture of the Gods, but that also meant stability and order. Once the investiture was complete and the Heavenly Court established, the divine path would surely flourish!

What would it mean if the Yao Race could claim thirty percent of the divine positions?

It would mean that the Yao Race would have more than a hundred immortal and indestructible gods!

It would mean that the Yao Race could return to the stage of the Primordial Era in a different way, openly and with dignity!

It would mean that they could use the fortune of the divine path to escape their wretched fate of being treated as mounts and materials!

And if everything went well, they might truly be able to use this enormous power of the divine path to rebuild a "Divine Path Heavenly Court of the Yao Race"—one different from the ancient Yao Court, yet just as glorious—as the information had suggested!

The temptation was simply too great!

So great that even she, a Saint who had been free of worldly desires and serene for countless eons, could not refuse it!

"Who... exactly is he?"

A storm surged in Empress Nuwa's heart.

He could wield the Investiture of the Gods and make a promise even Dao Ancestor Hongjun had never made.

The identity and designs of this mysterious master of the Investiture of the Gods were beyond her imagination.

Was he a contingency left by Master Hongjun? Or had the Investiture of the Gods itself developed an independent will? Or was this the scheme of some Chaos Demon God?

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, only to be dismissed one by one.

But none of that mattered anymore.

What mattered was that this was an opportunity!

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—perhaps the Yao Race's only chance to rise again!

If they missed this chance, the Yao Race might truly never rise again!

"Stop Taishang..."

Empress Nuwa's gaze pierced through the barrier of the Thirty-Three Heavens and turned toward distant Xi Qi.

After her initial shock, elation, and doubt, her eyes gradually grew unwaveringly resolute.

Fortune favored the bold!

For the future of the entire Yao Race, and for the clansmen still struggling on the Primordial Era's lands, she, a Saint, would take this gamble today!

So what if she offended Taishang?

So what if she made an enemy of the entire Mystic Gate?

As long as the Yao Race could regain its former glory, it would all be worth it!

She slowly rose to her feet. An awe-inspiring majesty, one that had lain dormant for countless eons and belonged to the Saint of the Yao Race, radiated from her.

The Innate Supreme Treasure she had sealed away after the War between the Liches and the Yao, rarely using it since—the Mountain River Society Map—slowly floated from her sleeve, radiating a hazy light of Fortune.

"Jin Ning," she called, her cool voice echoing through Wa Huang Palace.

"Your servant is here, Your Majesty." Her handmaiden, Jin Ning, hurried forward.

"Prepare the carriage."

Empress Nuwa's tone was calm, but the resolve within it could make Heaven and Earth change color.

"I am going to the Eastern Land to meet a few old friends."

Outside Xi Qi City, baleful energy surged as yellow fog spread across the land.

The terrifying Nine Bends Yellow River Formation lay across the earth like an ancient ferocious beast lying in wait, its aura enough to make one's heart tremble.

Several dozen li from the formation, in a fold in space, a golden light quietly appeared, transforming into a Taoist in robes with a leering face.

It was none other than Zhunti, who had rushed all the way from the Western Paradise.

The moment he appeared, the scene before him stunned him.

"Well, would you look at that!"

Zhunti's eyes widened as he stared at the formation in the distance and the enormous scroll hovering above it, so vast it blotted out the sky, its black and white energies slowly swirling. He couldn't help drawing in a sharp breath.

"So this is Taishang's Taiji Diagram? It truly lives up to its reputation!"

He could clearly sense two supreme laws of the Great Dao clashing fiercely within that seemingly thin diagram. From the outside, there was no visible sign of movement, but the clash of laws was every bit as perilous as the destruction of Heaven and Earth.

"Looks like that lunatic Yuanshi really has lost his temper. He doesn't even care about Taishang's face anymore." Zhunti smacked his lips, delighted.

Fight! The fiercer, the better! The more you wear each other down, the easier it'll be for me to reap the rewards!

His gaze passed over the Taiji Diagram and settled on the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation below.

"Tsk, tsk, what a vicious formation."

With his Saint's insight, he could naturally discern the details of the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation. It drew upon the waters of the Nine Bends Yellow River and contained innate baleful energy. With the Primordial Golden Dou, a rare treasure, as its Formation Eye, it could strip away the Three Flowers on the Crown and destroy the Five Qi in the Chest. It was truly vicious.

Even a Grand Unity Golden Immortal would be brought to their knees inside.

But in the eyes of a Saint, it was nothing special. As long as no Saint was presiding over it, he had a hundred ways to break the formation.

But at the moment, he had no intention of breaking it.

His divine sense extended like invisible tendrils, cautiously probing into the formation.

Soon, he "saw" what was inside.

On the raised platform, the three sisters Yun Xiao, Qiong Xiao, and Bi Xiao watched the sky tensely. Clearly, even they were bewildered by this sudden battle between Saints.

In the muddy shallows beneath the formation, twelve disheveled, ragged figures lay sprawled in every direction, their auras so faint they seemed like ordinary mortals.

They were none other than the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Sect of Explanation.

Beside them, the Sky-Turning Seal, the Yin Yang Mirror, the Immortal Slaying Sword... one by one, the Innate Spiritual Treasures that had once shaken the Primordial Era lay scattered in the muck like scrap metal, their radiance extinguished.

"Treasure! They're all treasures!"

Zhunti was practically drooling, his eyes sparkling.

That was the Primordial Golden Dou—a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure! Then there was the Sky-Turning Seal, a Houtian Merit Supreme Treasure of immeasurable power! And the Twelve Golden Immortals' entire collection of belongings!

If he could "bring" all of them back to the Western Teachings, their foundation would grow by at least thirty percent!

And those twelve Golden Immortals of the Sect of Explanation—though they were useless now, their foundations remained, and their Primordial Spirits were intact. As long as he brought them back to the West, he could cleanse them in the water of the Eight-Treasure Merit Pool and teach them the supreme arts of the Western Teachings. In no time at all, he could turn them into twelve loyal Buddhist guardians!

Then Yuanshi's face would truly have nowhere to hide.

Thinking of Yuanshi's livid face, Zhunti couldn't help wanting to laugh.

"No, I need to figure out a way to get in there. Quickly!"

Zhunti felt as if ants were crawling all over him. He was itching to act.

But how could he get in?

Charge straight in?

No, no.

He was confident he could break the formation, but the commotion would be too great. If it disturbed the two inside the Taiji Diagram—especially Taishang, that old schemer—and he came out to meddle as well, things would get troublesome.

Sneak in?

That might work!

Zhunti's eyes rolled as an idea came to him.

He reckoned this was the perfect moment.

The Sanxiao sisters had their full attention fixed on the battle between Saints in the sky.

Most of the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation's power was also being used to suppress those twelve invalids and fend off the aftershocks spilling out of the battle between Saints.

Under the circumstances, the formation's defenses were bound to have gaps.

With his Saintly abilities and his famously shameless ways, sneaking in without a sound shouldn't be difficult.